5 summer travel hacks you need to know

Arriving at your destination is great – but actually getting there can be a headache. After years of traveling for work, there are few tricks and shortcuts I’ve adopted to make my life a little easier. As you plan your summer vacation, here are five hacks to make packing and traveling less painful.

Hide your socks

If you’re not strategic when it comes to packing, little items like socks and accessories can take up a lot of extra space. My tip is to make them invisible.

After I pack my suitcase, I roll up my socks and scarves and place them in my shoes.As for belts, I pack them last and snake them around my clothes. They take up the forgotten space, making room for more important stuff.

Bring a power strip

When you’re at the airport, finding an open plug to charge your devices can sometimes be close to impossible. If you want to make sure you’ll have a place to juice up, bring your own power strip. This way you can charge whenever you want and help other travelers with drained devices.

Use your sunglasses as an iPhone stand

Once you get on the plane, try using your sunglasses to prop up your smartphone. If you want to watch something on your device, you’re often stuck holding the phone up in front of you. However, if you pull out your tray and prop up your phone with your sunglasses, you have hands-free entertainment!

Bring your own kit

If you’ve ever flown in business class, you know the airline gives you an amenity kit with things like a toothbrush, mints and eye mask. The truth is, you don’t need the airline to do this for you. Instead, use something like an eyeglass case to create your own kit.

Personally, I pack my kit with an eye mask, ear plugs, hair ties, ibuprofen, lip balm and mints. Planning this little kit ahead of time keeps me from overpaying for supplies at the airport, and everything I need during a long flight is easily accessible. This keeps me from fumbling through my bag in those oh-so-very cramped economy seats.

Pack your own booze

And finally, some of us need a little “assistance” when flying, and for this I’d suggest bringing on your own mini bottles of booze. According to the TSA, you can fill up a quart-sized bag with these little bottles, but technically you’re not supposed to drink them on the plane. That said, it could be a nice treat for when you land, so you don’t end up paying top dollar for drinks out of the mini bar.

Those are my hacks for summer travel, what are yours? Tweet me @bjonescooper or leave it in the comments section below.